COIMBATORE: The initiative by Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) to collect only e-waste from the residents at the corporation park on Alagesan road in ward-22 through an exclusive collection bin is yielding poor response. The residents point out the pandemic as the reason. However, the officials claimed that a few residents are reportedly dumping daily household waste besides e-waste in the collection bin.
Now, the e-waste from the ward, where the e-waste collection project was implemented on a trial basis, would end up at the Vellalore dump yard, the officials added.
It is to be recalled that CCMC joined hands with a city-based start-up to collect, segregate and dispose of the e-waste safely. The civic body in 2018 placed a white-coloured e-waste collection bin in ward-22.
This was done In an aim to make the residents conceive the practice of disposing of the e-waste safely in the bin instead of dumping it along with the daily waste. The process was going smooth until the pandemic hit the country in March 2020, until then the bin had collected 120 kilograms of e-waste since the time it was installed.
An official privy to the developments said, "The pandemic marred the regular e-waste collection process. The civic body had plans to install more such bins in some places but the idea was put on the backburner."
With the recently launched Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 that deals with star-rating performance for each solid waste management project, the officials said the civic body may consider giving a new lease of life to the e-waste collection process.
A source said the start-up which is into the collection and disposal of e-waste is planning to reach out to CCMC with a plan to take this project in a bigger way. Efforts to reach CCMC Commissioner Raja Gopal Sunkara went in vain.
It is said Coimbatore city generates nearly 200 tonne of e-waste a month and 3,000 tonne annually.